Nash-Finch Earnings Preview

Investors are on the edges of their seats, hoping that Nash-Finch Company (Nasdaq: NAFC  ) will top analyst expectations for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, Nov. 10. Nash-Finch is a publicly traded wholesale food distributor in the United States serving the retail grocery industry and the military commissary and exchange systems.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Nash-Finch while the remaining half rate the stock as a buy. Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Nash-Finch. Analysts don't like Nash-Finch as much as competitor Core-Mark Holding Company overall. Three out of three analysts rate Core-Mark Holding a buy compared to one of two for Nash-Finch. Wall Street has warmed to the stock over the past three months, with analysts increasing their endorsement from hold to moderate buy.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $1.46 billion in revenue this quarter. That would represent a decline of 3.3% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $1.07 per share. Estimates range from $1.00 to $1.14.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock with 83.3% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large agrees with the All-Stars with 80.7% assigning it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Nash-Finch, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 30 posts in the past 30 days. Nash-Finch's bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Nash-Finch's income has fallen year over year by an average of 45.3% over the past five quarters. Revenue has fallen for the past three quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
Gross Margin	8.2%	8.1%	8.1%	8.1%
Operating Margin	1.5%	1.1%	1.6%	1.5%
Net Margin	0.9%	0.7%	1.5%	1.0%

For all our Nash-Finch Company-specific analysis, including earnings and beyond, add Nash-Finch Company to My Watchlist.

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